Book Pairings for Back in Black
The smokey, bitter flavors put me in mind of literary noir, so here are a few recommended pairings:
Title: The Big Sleep
Author: Raymond Chandler
The essential noir novel. A dying millionaire hires private dick Philip Marlowe (not to be confused with Spike Marlowe) to go digging. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the things he uncovers. Plus, Chandler wore gloves while he typed, so you know there’s some serious strangeness below the surface.
Title: Jimmy Plush, Teddy Bear Detective
Author: Garrett Cook
If Philip Marlowe's world included furries and plushies, and he was a three-foot-high bundle of fluff, you'd have Jimmy Plush, Teddy Bear Detective. Inspired Bizarro noir.
Title: Necropolis
Author: Michael Dempsey
NYPD detective Paul Donner is shot and killed in a seemingly random crime. Fifty years later, he's back, courtesy of the shift, a strange plague that re-activates DNA, creating a new underclass of reborn citizens. In this retro-future world, Paul Donner must solve his own murder. Highly recommended.
Title: Red Harvest
Author: Dashiell Hammett
A personal favorite, as the Continental Op tracks down the murder of the last honest man in Poisonville, a run-down company town controlled by rival gangs. Uncompromisingly dark, cynical, and violent, Red Harvest showcases the noir heart of Americana like no other.
Title: The Orphan Palace
Author: Joseph S. Pulver Sr.
Strange, experimental, and twisted, Joe Pulver’s killer-on-the-road novel The Orphan Palace is noir through the lens of Lovecraft, Ligotti, Poe, and Jodorwsky.
